1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless communication terminal that forms a mesh network with a plurality of wireless communication terminals, a wireless communication system, a communication management method and a computer program.
2. Description of the Related Art
A mesh network operates as a backbone that connects access points in a mesh architecture to autonomously form transmission paths, and its standardization is promoted by the groups such as Internet Engineering Task Force Mobile Ad hoc Network (IETF MANET) and IEEE 802.11s. However, there are many issues in implementation such as difficulty in measuring a link quality.
In the mesh network, a hello message, which is a communication management signal, is generally used to grasp the existence of nearby nodes. The hello message is transmitted via broadcast so that it reaches all nodes within the wireless communication range. FIG. 14 shows an example of the mesh network that is made up of three nodes A, B and C. It is assumed that all the nodes are in the state of being able to communicate. Each node periodically transmits a hello message to an indefinite number of nodes via broadcast. For example, if the nodes B and C receive the hello message that is transmitted from the node A, the nodes B and C register the node A on their nearby node lists as a node existing nearby and being able to communicate with. In this manner, the node that has received the hello message recognizes a transmission source node as a nearby node being able to communicate with.